An explosion in development and traffic in the region has left North Side highways over
capacity, Ohio Department of Transportation officials said yesterday at an event to kick off the
construction.

ODOT plans to replace two loop ramps for drivers exiting I-270 to Rt. 23 with a smoother curve
and add traffic signals at each ramp. The High Street bridge over I-270 will be spruced up with a
decorative fence emblazoned with
Worthington and brick pillars.

Rt. 23 will be widened from two to three lanes in both directions between Northwoods Boulevard
and Lazelle Road, and ODOT will add a fourth lane on southbound Rt. 23 between I-270 and
Northwoods.

The $72 million project will take about 2 1/2 years to complete, but traffic restrictions should
be lifted by September 2015, said Ferzan Ahmed, ODOT deputy director for District 6.

“You’ve got congestion. We have safety issues,” Ahmed said. “We’re going to solve them over the
next 30 months.”

Plans originally called for the project to begin in 2014, and ODOT said last year that its
overly ambitious construction schedule delayed the start of construction to 2025.

But the agency has saved about $600 million in operating costs since early 2012 and is using
that on capital projects, said Director Jerry Wray.

Moving up the construction schedule from 2014 to 2013 also helped the department secure more
federal funding, Ahmed said.

“We’re going to fix this problem, and we’re going to do it right now when it’s needed,” he
said.

The interchange is the third-busiest in central Ohio, with more than 173,405 vehicles traveling
through it each day.

ODOT plans to maintain two lanes of traffic in both directions on Rt. 23 during the day, but it
could be reduced to one lane overnight, said spokeswoman Nancy Burton. Starting on Monday, ramps
will remain open but will be squeezed to allow crews to set up construction materials.